The brightest way to start 2025 for 29 clubs in Major League Baseball is to point out that, no, the Los Angeles Dodgers almost certainly have not bought another title this year.
Yes, they have paid Blake Snell $182m, brought back dominant closer Blake Treinen, added power with Teoscar and Hernandez and Michael Conforto, still have three MVPs at the top of their lineup, are the favorites to land Roki Sasaki, will have Shohei Ohtani, Tyler Glasnow, Dustin May and Clayton Kershaw back on the mound at some point this year and cruised through the final rounds of the playoffs to win an eighth World Series title.
But. There’s a reason only 14 clubs have retained their title in MLB history, and none since the 1998-2000 New York Yankees: it’s really hard.
Pitchers are tired, hitters are tired, there’s a target on your back and no pressure anymore. There’s no finer source for this than the 2024 Texas Rangers, who followed up their first championship in franchise history by going 78-84 and finishing eight games out of the playoffs.
So there we are. The Dodgers definitely won’t win it. Twenty-nine other teams, the field is yours.
Here, Mail Sport looks at 10 reasons for them – and the Dodgers, just to be nice – to get excited for what’s to come in 2025:
The LA Dodgers dominated the Yankees to win the World Series… but can they do it again?
Can the Mets topple the almighty Dodgers?
Los Angeles blitzed New York in both the National League Championship Series and World Series last October, and it was the Mets who took the full brunt of the Dodgers’ brutal lineup.
They were outscored 46-26 in just six games, giving up 10, 10, nine and eight runs in their four losses in a series that had been billed as a toss-up.
But now the Mets employ baseball’s hitting king, Juan Soto, for the princely sum of $760million.
Throw in NL Most Valuable Player runner-up Francisco Lindor, breakout rookie Mark Vientos and another year of growth from Francisco Alvarez, and this lineup has far more tools this year to keep pace with the juggernaut out west.
Juan Soto has swapped the Bronx for Queens and will suit up for the New York Mets in 2025
Will Ohtani’s arm hold up to win a fourth MVP?
The main problem facing the man with the now-second-richest contract in sports history is: which arm?
The right is still recovering from Tommy John surgery, and will be eased back into pitching after more than a year off, and the left also underwent a procedure in November.
It is almost a given that the Dodgers star won’t be on as loose a leash to steal 59 bases again and convince the baseball writers that a designated hitter should win MVP, but can his bat, and arm(s), make up the difference?
In 2024, Ohtani became the 11th player to win exactly three MVPs, and only Barry Bonds (seven) has gone beyond that.
Getting back to his previous levels on the mound after a second Tommy John, and winning a fourth MVP, would probably confirm Ohtani as the greatest player of all time – and he’s still only 30.
There are still plenty of questions over Shohei Ohtani’s arms as he prepares to pitch again
Are the Yankees better off without Soto?
In short, no – it’s never a good thing to be without an electrifying 26-year-old who has a legitimate comparison to Ted Williams.
But 760 is an awful lot of millions for a baseball team to spend on one player. In his place, New York has signed Max Fried (eight years, $218m) and Paul Goldschmidt (one year, $12m) and traded for Devin Williams, Cody Bellinger and Fernando Cruz.
There’s a lot more room in the tank and a while yet until Opening Day to do more. But the lineup really could do with a jolt, not to mention the infield, if the 15-year title drought is going to end.
Signing two-time World Series champion Alex Bregman to play third base and moving Jazz Chisholm to second would put the Yankees right back in the hunt.
Alex Bregman could significantly improve the Yankees’ World Series hopes if they trade for him
The Sasaki Show
It may well be a foregone conclusion that Sasaki, who has been conducting his free agency meetings in Los Angeles, joins Samurai Japan team-mates Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto on the Dodgers, as we all expect.
But the 23-year-old phenom’s agent Joel Wolfe has been coy so far, and even hinted at joining a smaller market. That’s not to say anyone can see him in Milwaukee or Cincinnati, but don’t rule out San Diego or even Tampa Bay.
And given he will be available for the major-league minimum, and his career 2.10 earned run average in Japan, this should be the signing every club covets.
Roki Sasaki is being lined up by LA, where he would join Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto
What happens if the A’s and Rays make World Series?
Ok, it’s unlikely. These two homeless franchises lost a combined 175 games in 2024, but the Athletics have made a promising start to the off-season, throwing $67m at Luis Severino and trading with the Rays for another starting pitcher, Jeffrey Springs.
Tampa Bay are also never far away, even in another powerhouse edition of the American League East.
So the play-offs may not be beyond either club, who now both face the ignominy of playing in Triple-A ballparks in 2025 – for vastly different reasons.
While the ‘Don’t Call Them Sacramento’ Athletics forced themselves out of Oakland before Las Vegas was ready, leading to temporary relocation to Sutter Health Park in California’s state capital, the Rays’ Tropicana Field was torn apart by Hurricane Milton in October. They will play at the Yankees’ Spring Training home, George M Steinbrenner Field, this year.
All of which begs the question – will MLB really allow a postseason series to be hosted at parks that each have fewer than 12,000 seats?
Let’s just say that if either are in contention down the stretch, don’t be surprised to hear the janitor’s phone ringing in San Francisco or Miami to keep the doors open.
The Rays will be playing away from Tropicana Field after it was obliterated by Hurricane Milton
Will the record-breaking White Sox sink even lower?
Scoring your age might be impressive over 18 holes, but for fans of the Chicago White Sox, 2024 was anything but.
This was the franchise’s 121st season, and they marked it by recording 121 losses, the most by any team in the modern era.
No White Sox team has ever improved their record by more than 26 wins from season to season, so even doing something no squad has done in the history of one of baseball’s oldest franchises wouldn’t even get them to 70 wins.
And, to be honest, they should probably set their targets closer to 50. They have traded Garrett Crochet, released one-time uber-prospect Yoan Moncada and catcher Max Stassi, and probably will lose Luis Robert in a trade too.
And once they do, only Andrew Benintendi and Andrew Vaughn will be left from a 2024 Opening Day lineup that began the season 3-22.
There might be two teams playing in Triple-A parks in 2025 but this roster might be playing a level too high even there. First-year manager Will Venable has our deepest sympathies.
Former Yankee Andrew Benintendi (right) is one of only two players in Chicago a year on
Do the Pirates know they have Paul Skenes?
And, for that matter, Jared Jones, Oneil Cruz, Bryan Reynolds, Ke’Bryan Hayes and Mitch Keller? That’s a highly impressive core for a team currently projected to have an Opening Day payroll of $75m.
So why, when Jones could be lining up in a three-headed monster alongside Skenes – perhaps the best pitcher in the sport already – and Keller is he being mentioned in trade discussions?
The Pirates have the makings of a great roster, one of the best ballparks in the league, have finished under .500 six seasons in a row and have not won a playoff series in just over 45 years. It’s time to go for it.
They are light at first, second and in the outfield – what better way to start 2025 than by signing Pete Alonso, Kike Hernandez or Anthony Santander? And with a payroll as low as theirs, why not all three?
Pittsburgh Pirates ace right-hander Paul Skenes won the National League Rookie of the Year
The Cubs’ chance has come
The Chicago Cubs look ready to compete in an extremely winnable NL Central.
The Brewers have continued their recent retooling by giving up their best position player and reliever in Willy Adames and Williams, while the Cardinals still aren’t out of their funk, the Reds are still a few players away from contending and the Pirates, as discussed, are still acting like the Pirates.
Essentially swapping Bellinger for Kyle Tucker is an upgrade and gives them a very strong outfield alongside Pete Crow-Armstrong, Ian Happ and fourth outfielder-slash-designated-hitter Seiya Suzuki, whose bat has gone under the radar as one of the best in the National League.
With second-year manager Craig Counsell, another who left Milwaukee, now firmly bedded in, that outfield and a solid rotation may well be enough to win the division, and even a first playoff win since 2017.
But filling their hole at third base with Bregman and getting Jack Flaherty to support Shota Imanaga at the top of the rotation could make them extremely dangerous.
Kyle Tucker has swapped Houston for Chicago… and it makes the Cubs serious contenders
Will any team win 100 games?
Last season was the first full campaign for a decade not to feature a 100-game winner – the Dodgers paced the sport at 98 – and the league-wide trend was a little more even (White Sox aside) after a sustained period of ‘super-teams’ dominating.
But it is likely just a blip, with the Dodgers looking even stronger, the Mets going all in and strong candidates for 100 wins in Baltimore, Philadelphia and the Bronx.
Atlanta won 89 games last year even without Spencer Strider, Ronald Acuna Jnr, Austin Riley, Sean Murphy, Michael Harris II and Ozzie Albies for large parts of the season, having hit three figures in the previous two campaigns.
Milestone watch
Despite the timid end, the Yankees postseason run showed Giancarlo Stanton has his power stroke back, and with 429 career home runs is only two behind Cal Ripken Jnr to break into the top 50 all time.
A monstrous year – he’d need 40 for the first time since his 2017 MVP season – would take him all the way into the top 35 and bang on track to reach 500 in 2026.
At that point, his Hall of Fame case becomes very persuasive. Another who can take an (early) step towards Cooperstown is Manny Machado, who needs 100 more hits to reach 2,000 at the age of 32. He’s also eight homers shy of 350, and nine runs away from 1,000.
Other players within reach of significant milestones include already sure-fire Hall of Famers Clayton Kershaw – who needs 32 more strikeouts to reach 3,000 – Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander, who are 93 and 84 respectively away from 3,500. Big years for each of the latter two could take them above Don Sutton in seventh (3,574).
And while free-agent closers Kenley Jansen (447 saves) and Craig Kimbrel (440) won’t hit 500 for a while, both will have their eyes on Lee Smith’s mark of 478 in third place on the all-time list.
